Though previously thought to be generally solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in sex-specific
social behavior. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four raccoons to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season, and other potential invaders.
Home range sizes vary anywhere from 3 hectares (7.4 acres) for females in cities to 5,000 hectares (12,000 acres) for males in
prairies. After a
gestation period of about 65 days, two to five young, known as "kits", are born in spring. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersal in late fall. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years, their life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. In many areas,
hunting and vehicular injury are the two most common causes of death.

Etymology

The mask of a raccoon is often interrupted by a brown-black streak that extends from forehead to nose.[3]

Names for the species include the common raccoon,[4]North American raccoon,[5] and northern raccoon,[6] The word "raccoon" was adopted into English from the native
Powhatan term, as used in the
Colony of Virginia. It was recorded on
John Smith's list of Powhatan words as aroughcun, and on that of
William Strachey as arathkone.[7] It has also been identified as a reflex of a
Proto-Algonquian root ahrah-koon-em, meaning "[the] one who rubs, scrubs and scratches with its hands".[8] The word is sometimes spelled as racoon,[9]

Spanish colonists adopted the Spanish word mapache from the
Nahuatlmapachtli of the
Aztecs, meaning "[the] one who takes everything in its hands".[10] In many languages, the raccoon is named for its characteristic dousing behavior in conjunction with that language's term for bear, for example Waschbär ('wash-bear') in German, Huan Xiong (浣熊 'wash-bear') in Chinese, dvivón róchetz (דביבון רוחץ 'washing-bear[DIM]') in Hebrew, orsetto lavatore ('little washer bear') in Italian, and araiguma (洗熊 (あらいぐま) 'washing-bear') in Japanese. Alternatively, only the washing behavior might be referred to, as in Russian poloskun (полоскун, 'rinser').

The
colloquial abbreviation coon is used in words like coonskin for
fur clothing and in phrases like old coon as a self-designation of
trappers.[11][12] In the 1830s, the United States
Whig Party used the raccoon as an emblem, causing them to be pejoratively known as "coons" by their political opponents, who saw them as too sympathetic to African-Americans. Soon after that the term became an
ethnic slur,[13] especially in use between 1880 and 1920 (see coon song), and the term is still considered offensive.[14]

Evolution

Based on
fossil evidence from Russia and Bulgaria, the first known members of the family
Procyonidae lived in Europe in the late
Oligocene about 25 million years ago.[22] Similar tooth and skull structures suggest procyonids and
weasels share a common ancestor, but molecular analysis indicates a closer relationship between raccoons and bears.[23] After the then-existing species crossed the
Bering Strait at least six million years later in the early
Miocene, the center of its distribution was probably in Central America.[24]Coatis (Nasua and Nasuella) and raccoons (Procyon) have been considered to share common descent from a species in the genus Paranasua present between 5.2 and 6.0 million years ago.[25] This assumption, based on morphological comparisons of fossils, conflicts with a 2006 genetic analysis which indicates raccoons are more closely related to
ringtails.[26] Unlike other procyonids, such as the
crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus), the ancestors of the common raccoon left
tropical and
subtropical areas and migrated farther north about 2.5 million years ago, in a migration that has been confirmed by the discovery of fossils in the
Great Plains dating back to the middle of the
Pliocene.[27][25] Its most recent ancestor was likely Procyon rexroadensis, a large
Blancan raccoon from the
Rexroad Formation characterized by its narrow back teeth and large lower jaw.[28]

Subspecies

A Torch Key raccoon (P. l. incautus) in
Cudjoe Key, Florida. Subspecies inhabiting the
Florida Keys are characterized by their small size and very pale fur.

The four smallest raccoon subspecies, with a typical weight of 1.8 to 2.7 kg (4.0 to 6.0 lb), live along the southern coast of
Florida and on the adjacent islands; an example is the Ten Thousand Islands raccoon (Procyon lotor marinus).[34] Most of the other 15 subspecies differ only slightly from each other in coat color, size and other physical characteristics.[35][36] The two most widespread subspecies are the eastern raccoon (Procyon lotor lotor) and the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon (Procyon lotor hirtus). Both share a comparatively dark coat with long hairs, but the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon is larger than the eastern raccoon. The eastern raccoon occurs in all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of
South Carolina and
Tennessee. The adjacent range of the Upper Mississippi Valley raccoon covers all U.S. states and Canadian provinces to the north of
Louisiana,
Texas and
New Mexico.[37]

The taxonomic identity of feral raccoons inhabiting Central Europe, Causasia and Japan is unknown, as the founding populations consisted of uncategorized specimens from zoos and fur farms.[38]

Nova Scotia, southern New Brunswick, southern Quebec, and southern Ontario south through the eastern United States to North Carolina, and from the Atlantic coast west to Lake Michigan, Indiana, southern Illinois, western Kentucky, and probably eastern Tennessee.

Texas, except extreme northern and western parts, southern Arkansas, Louisiana, except delta region of Mississippi, and south into northeastern Mexico, including Coahuila and Nuevo León, to southern Tamaulipas.

A large and dark-furred subspecies, whose pelage is usually suffused with ochraceous buff.[47]

Upper Mississippi and Missouri River drainage areas from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains east to Lake Michigan, and from southern Manitoba and probably southwestern Ontario and southeastern Alberta south to southern Oklahoma and Arkansas.

Torch Key raccoonP. l. incautus

Nelson, 1930

A small subspecies with very pale fur (the palest of the Florida raccoons).[48]

Big Pine Key Group, near southwestern end of chain of Florida Keys.

Matecumbe Key raccoonP. l. inesperatus

Nelson, 1930

Similar to P. l. elucus, but smaller and grayer and with a flatter skull.[49]

Key Largo Group, embracing fringing keys along the southeast coast of Florida, from Virginia Key south to Lower Matecumbe Key.

Description

Physical characteristics

Lower side of front paw with visible
vibrissae on the tips of the digits

Head to hindquarters, raccoons measure between 40 and 70 cm (16 and 28 in), not including the bushy tail which can
measure between 20 and 40 cm (8 and 16 in), but is usually not much longer than 25 cm (10 in).[62][63][64] The shoulder height is between 23 and 30 cm (9 and 12 in).[65] The body weight of an adult raccoon varies considerably with
habitat, making the raccoon one of the most variably sized mammals. It can range from 5 to 26 kilograms (10 to 60 lb), but is usually between 5 and 12 kilograms (10 and 30 lb). The smallest specimens live in southern Florida, while those near the northern limits of the raccoon's range tend to be the largest (see
Bergmann's rule).[66] Males are usually 15 to 20% heavier than females.[67] At the beginning of winter, a raccoon can weigh twice as much as in spring because of fat storage.[68][69][70] The largest recorded wild raccoon weighed 28.4 kg (62.6 lb) and measured 140 cm (55 in) in total length, by far the largest size recorded for a procyonid.[71][72]

The most characteristic physical feature of the raccoon is the area of black
fur around the eyes, which contrasts sharply with the surrounding white face coloring. This is reminiscent of a "
bandit's mask" and has thus enhanced the animal's reputation for mischief.[73][74] The slightly rounded ears are also bordered by white fur. Raccoons are assumed to recognize the facial expression and posture of other members of their species more quickly because of the conspicuous facial coloration and the alternating light and dark rings on the tail.[75][76][77] The dark mask may also reduce
glare and thus enhance
night vision.[76][77] On other parts of the body, the long and stiff
guard hairs, which shed moisture, are usually colored in shades of gray and, to a lesser extent, brown.[78] Raccoons with a very dark coat are more common in the German population because individuals with such coloring were among those initially released to the wild.[79] The dense
underfur, which accounts for almost 90% of the coat, insulates against cold weather and is composed of 2 to 3 cm (0.8 to 1.2 in) long hairs.[78]

The raccoon, whose method of
locomotion is usually considered to be
plantigrade, can stand on its hind legs to examine objects with its front paws.[80][81] As raccoons have short legs compared to their compact torso, they are usually not able either to run quickly or jump great distances.[82][83] Their top speed over short distances is 16 to 24 km/h (10 to 15 mph).[84][85] Raccoons can swim with an average speed of about 5 km/h (3 mph) and can stay in the water for several hours.[86][83] For climbing down a tree headfirst—an unusual ability for a mammal of its size—a raccoon rotates its hind feet so they are pointing backwards.[87][83] Raccoons have a dual cooling system to
regulate their temperature; that is, they are able to both sweat and pant for heat dissipation.[88][89]

Senses

The most important sense for the raccoon is its
sense of touch.[99][100][101] The "hyper sensitive"[100] front paws are protected by a thin
horny layer that becomes pliable when wet.[102][103] The five digits of the paws have no webbing between them, which is unusual for a
carnivoran.[104] Almost two-thirds of the area responsible for
sensory perception in the raccoon's
cerebral cortex is specialized for the interpretation of tactile impulses, more than in any other studied animal.[105] They are able to identify objects before touching them with
vibrissae located above their sharp, nonretractable
claws.[80][101] The raccoon's paws lack an opposable
thumb; thus, it does not have the agility of the hands of
primates.[101][103] There is no observed negative effect on tactile perception when a raccoon stands in water below 10 °C (50 °F) for hours.[106]

Intelligence

Zoologist
Clinton Hart Merriam described raccoons as "clever beasts", and that "in certain directions their cunning surpasses that of the fox". The animal's intelligence gave rise to the epithet "sly coon".[118] Only a few studies have been undertaken to determine the mental abilities of raccoons, most of them based on the animal's sense of touch. In a study by the
ethologist H. B. Davis in 1908, raccoons were able to open 11 of 13 complex locks in fewer than 10 tries and had no problems repeating the action when the locks were rearranged or turned upside down. Davis concluded that they understood the
abstract principles of the locking mechanisms and their
learning speed was equivalent to that of
rhesus macaques.[119]

Studies in 1963, 1973, 1975 and 1992 concentrated on raccoon
memory showed that they can remember the solutions to tasks for at least three years.[120] In a study by B. Pohl in 1992, raccoons were able to instantly differentiate between identical and different symbols three years after the short initial learning phase.[120]Stanislas Dehaene reports in his book The Number Sense that raccoons can distinguish boxes containing two or four grapes from those containing three.[121] In research by
Suzana Herculano-Houzel and other
neuroscientists, raccoons have been found to be comparable to
primates in density of
neurons in the
cerebral cortex, which they have proposed to be a
neuroanatomical indicator of intelligence.[122][123]

Behavior

Social behavior

Eastern raccoons (P. l. lotor) in a tree: The raccoon's social structure is grouped into what
Ulf Hohmann calls a "three-class society".

Studies in the 1990s by the ethologists Stanley D. Gehrt and
Ulf Hohmann suggest that raccoons engage in sex-specific
social behaviors and are not typically solitary, as was previously thought.[124][125] Related females often live in a so-called "
fission-fusion society"; that is, they share a common area and occasionally meet at feeding or resting grounds.[126][127] Unrelated males often form loose male social groups to maintain their position against foreign males during the
mating season—or against other potential invaders.[128] Such a group does not usually consist of more than four individuals.[129][130] Since some males show aggressive behavior towards unrelated kits, mothers will isolate themselves from other raccoons until their kits are big enough to defend themselves.[131]

With respect to these three different modes of life prevalent among raccoons, Hohmann called their
social structure a "three-class society".[132] Samuel I. Zeveloff, professor of
zoology at
Weber State University and author of the book Raccoons: A Natural History, is more cautious in his interpretation and concludes at least the females are solitary most of the time and, according to Erik K. Fritzell's study in
North Dakota in 1978, males in areas with low population densities are solitary as well.[133]

The shape and size of a raccoon's
home range varies depending on age, sex, and habitat, with adults claiming areas more than twice as large as juveniles.[134] While the size of home ranges in the habitat of North Dakota's
prairies lie between 7 and 50 km2 (3 and 20 sq mi) for males and between 2 and 16 km2 (1 and 6 sq mi) for females, the average size in a
marsh at
Lake Erie was 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi).[135] Irrespective of whether the home ranges of adjacent groups overlap, they are most likely not actively defended outside the mating season if food supplies are sufficient.[136] Odor marks on prominent spots are assumed to establish home ranges and identify individuals.[115] Urine and feces left at shared
raccoon latrines may provide additional information about feeding grounds, since raccoons were observed to meet there later for collective eating, sleeping and playing.[137]

Concerning the general behavior patterns of raccoons, Gehrt points out that "typically you'll find 10 to 15 percent that will do the opposite"[138] of what is expected.

Diet

Though usually nocturnal, the raccoon is sometimes active in daylight to take advantage of available food sources.[139][140] Its diet consists of about 40%
invertebrates, 33%
plant material and 27%
vertebrates.[141] Since its diet consists of such a variety of different foods, Zeveloff argues the raccoon "may well be one of the world's most omnivorous animals".[142] While its diet in spring and early summer consists mostly of insects, worms, and other animals already available early in the year, it prefers fruits and nuts, such as
acorns and walnuts, which emerge in late summer and autumn, and represent a rich calorie source for building up fat needed for winter.[143][144] Contrary to popular belief, raccoons only occasionally eat active or large prey, such as
birds and
mammals.
They prefer prey that is easier to catch, specifically
fish,
amphibians and bird eggs.[145] Raccoons are virulent predators of eggs and hatchlings in both birds and
reptile nests, to such a degree that, for threatened prey species, raccoons may need to be removed from the area or nests may need to be relocated to mitigate the effect of their predations (i.e. in the case of some globally threatened
turtles).[146][147][148][149][150] When food is plentiful, raccoons can develop strong individual preferences for specific foods.[69] In the northern parts of their range, raccoons go into a
winter rest, reducing their activity drastically as long as a permanent snow cover makes searching for food impossible.[151]

Dousing

Captive raccoons often douse their food before eating.

One aspect of raccoon behavior is so well known that it gives the animal part of its scientific name, Procyon lotor; "lotor" is neo-Latin for "washer". In the wild, raccoons often dabble for underwater food near the shore-line. They then often pick up the food item with their front paws to examine it and rub the item, sometimes to remove unwanted parts. This gives the appearance of the raccoon "washing" the food. The tactile sensitivity of raccoons' paws is increased if this rubbing action is performed underwater, since the water softens the hard layer covering the paws.[100][152] However, the behavior observed in captive raccoons in which they carry their food to water to "wash" or douse it before eating has not been observed in the wild.[153][154]NaturalistGeorges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, believed that raccoons do not have adequate
saliva production to moisten food thereby necessitating dousing, but this hypothesis is now considered to be incorrect.[152][153][155][156] Captive raccoons douse their food more frequently when a watering hole with a layout similar to a stream is not farther away than 3 m (10 ft).[156] The widely accepted theory is that dousing in captive raccoons is a
fixed action pattern from the dabbling behavior performed when foraging at shores for aquatic foods.[152][156][157][158] This is supported by the observation that aquatic foods are doused more frequently. Cleaning dirty food does not seem to be a reason for "washing".[156] Experts have cast doubt on the veracity of observations of wild raccoons dousing food.[159][160][161][needs update?]

Reproduction

Raccoons usually
mate in a period triggered by increasing daylight between late January and mid-March.[162][163][164] However, there are large regional differences which are not completely explicable by solar conditions. For example, while raccoons in southern states typically mate later than average, the mating season in
Manitoba also peaks later than usual in March and extends until June.[164] During the mating season, males restlessly roam their home ranges in search of females in an attempt to court them during the three- to four-day period when conception is possible. These encounters will often occur at central meeting places.[165][166][167]Copulation, including foreplay, can last over an hour and is repeated over several nights.[168] The weaker members of a male social group also are assumed to get the opportunity to mate, since the stronger ones cannot mate with all available females.[169] In a study in southern Texas during the mating seasons from 1990 to 1992, about one third of all females mated with more than one male.[170] If a female does not become
pregnant or if she loses her kits early, she will sometimes become fertile again 80 to 140 days later.[171][172][173]

An eastern raccoon (P. l. lotor) kit

After usually 63 to 65 days of
gestation (although anywhere from 54 to 70 days is possible), a
litter of typically two to five young is born.[174][175] The average litter size varies widely with habitat, ranging from 2.5 in
Alabama to 4.8 in
North Dakota.[176][177] Larger litters are more common in areas with a high mortality rate, due, for example, to
hunting or severe winters.[178][177] While male yearlings usually reach their sexual maturity only after the main mating season, female yearlings can compensate for high mortality rates and may be responsible for about 50% of all young born in a year.[179][180][181] Males have no part in raising young.[129][182][183] The kits (also called "cubs") are blind and deaf at birth, but their mask is already visible against their light fur.[184][185] The birth weight of the about 10 cm (4 in)-long kits is between 60 and 75 g (2.1 and 2.6 oz).[185] Their ear canals open after around 18 to 23 days, a few days before their eyes open for the first time.[186] Once the kits weigh about 1 kg (2 lb), they begin to explore outside the den, consuming solid food for the first time after six to nine weeks.[187][188] After this point, their mother
suckles them with decreasing frequency; they are usually weaned by 16 weeks.[189] In the fall, after their mother has shown them dens and feeding grounds, the juvenile group splits up.[190][191] While many females will stay close to the home range of their mother, males can sometimes move more than 20 km (12 mi) away.[192][193] This is considered an
instinctive behavior, preventing
inbreeding.[194][195] However, mother and offspring may share a den during the first winter in cold areas.[191]

Life expectancy

Young Florida raccoon (P. l. elucus) crossing a road

Captive raccoons have been known to live for more than 20 years.[73] However, the species' life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years, depending on the local conditions such as traffic volume, hunting, and weather severity.[196] It is not unusual for only half of the young born in one year to survive a full year.[179][197] After this point, the annual mortality rate drops to between 10% and 30%.[179] Young raccoons are vulnerable to losing their mother and to starvation, particularly in long and cold winters.[198] The most frequent natural cause of death in the North American raccoon population is
distemper, which can reach
epidemic proportions and kill most of a local raccoon population.[199] In areas with heavy vehicular traffic and extensive hunting, these factors can account for up to 90% of all deaths of adult raccoons.[200] The most important natural
predators of the raccoon are
bobcats,
coyotes, and
great horned owls, the latter mainly preying on young raccoons but capable of killing adults in some cases.[201][202][203][204][205][206] In
Florida, they have been reported to fall victim to larger carnivores like
American black bear and
cougars and these species may also be a threat on occasion in other areas.[207][208][209] Where still present,
gray wolves may still occasionally take raccoons as a supplemental prey item.[210][211] Also in the southeast, they are among the favored prey for adult
American alligators.[212][213] On occasion, both
bald and
golden eagles will prey on raccoons.[214][215] In the tropics, raccoons are known to fall prey to smaller eagles such as
ornate hawk-eagles and
black hawk-eagles, although it is not clear whether adults or merely juvenile raccoons are taken by these.[216][217] In rare cases of overlap, they may fall victim from carnivores ranging from species averaging smaller than themselves such as
fishers to those as large and formidable as
jaguars in
Mexico.[218][219] In their introduced range in the former Soviet Union, their main predators are
wolves,
lynxes and
Eurasian eagle-owls.[220] However, predation is not a significant cause of death, especially because larger predators have been
exterminated in many areas inhabited by raccoons.[221]

Range

Habitat

Although they have thrived in sparsely wooded areas in the last decades, raccoons depend on vertical structures to climb when they feel threatened.[222][223] Therefore, they avoid open terrain and areas with high concentrations of
beech trees, as beech
bark is too smooth to climb.[224]Tree hollows in old
oaks or other trees and rock crevices are preferred by raccoons as sleeping, winter and litter dens. If such dens are unavailable or accessing them is inconvenient, raccoons use
burrows dug by other mammals, dense
undergrowth or tree crotches.[225][226] In a study in the
Solling range of hills in Germany, more than 60% of all sleeping places were used only once, but those used at least ten times accounted for about 70% of all uses.[227] Since amphibians,
crustaceans, and other animals around the shore of lakes and rivers are an important part of the raccoon's diet, lowland
deciduous or
mixed forests abundant with water and marshes sustain the highest population densities.[228][229] While population densities range from 0.5 to 3.2 animals per square kilometer (1.3 to 8.3 animals per square mile) in prairies and do not usually exceed 6 animals per square kilometer (15.5 animals per square mile) in upland hardwood forests, more than 20 raccoons per square kilometer (51.8 animals per square mile) can live in lowland forests and marshes.[228][230]

Distribution in North America

Raccoons are common throughout North America from Canada to
Panama, where the subspecies Procyon lotor pumilus coexists with the
crab-eating raccoon (Procyon cancrivorus).[231][232] The population on
Hispaniola was exterminated as early as 1513 by Spanish colonists who hunted them for their meat.[233] Raccoons were also exterminated in
Cuba and
Jamaica, where the last sightings were reported in 1687.[234] When they were still considered separate species, the Bahamas raccoon, Guadeloupe raccoon and Tres Marias raccoon were classified as
endangered by the
IUCN in 1996.[235]

There is archeological evidence that in
pre-Columbian times raccoons were numerous only along rivers and in the woodlands of the
Southeastern United States.[236] As raccoons were not mentioned in earlier reports of
pioneers exploring the central and north-central parts of the United States,[237] their initial spread may have begun a few decades before the 20th century. Since the 1950s, raccoons have expanded their range from
Vancouver Island—formerly the northernmost limit of their range—far into the northern portions of the four south-central Canadian provinces.[238] New habitats which have recently been occupied by raccoons (aside from urban areas) include mountain ranges, such as the
Western Rocky Mountains, prairies and
coastal marshes.[239] After a population explosion starting in the 1940s, the estimated number of raccoons in North America in the late 1980s was 15 to 20 times higher than in the 1930s, when raccoons were comparatively rare.[240]Urbanization, the expansion of
agriculture, deliberate introductions, and the extermination of natural predators of the raccoon have probably caused this increase in abundance and distribution.[241]

Distribution outside North America

Distribution in Germany: Raccoons killed or found dead by hunters in the hunting years 2000–01, 2001–02 and 2002–03 in the administrative districts of Germany

As a result of escapes and deliberate
introductions in the mid-20th century, the raccoon is now distributed in several European and Asian countries. Sightings have occurred in all the countries bordering Germany, which hosts the largest population outside of North America.[242] Another stable population exists in northern France, where several pet raccoons were released by members of the
U.S. Air Force near the
Laon-Couvron Air Base in 1966.[243] Furthermore, raccoons have been known to be in the area around
Madrid since the early 1970s. In 2013, the city authorized "the capture and death of any specimen".[244] It is also present in
Italy, with one reproductive population in
Lombardy.[245]

About 1,240 animals were released in nine regions of the former
Soviet Union between 1936 and 1958 for the purpose of establishing a population to be hunted for their fur. Two of these introductions were successful—one in the south of
Belarus between 1954 and 1958, and another in
Azerbaijan between 1941 and 1957. With a seasonal harvest of between 1,000 and 1,500 animals, in 1974 the estimated size of the population distributed in the
Caucasus region was around 20,000 animals and the density was four animals per square kilometer (10 animals per square mile).[246]

Distribution in Japan

In Japan, up to 1,500 raccoons were imported as pets each year after the success of the
anime series Rascal the Raccoon (1977). In 2004, the descendants of discarded or escaped animals lived in 42 of 47
prefectures.[247][248][249] The range of raccoons in the wild in Japan grew from 17 prefectures in 2000 to all 47 prefectures in 2008.[250] It is estimated that raccoons cause thirty million yen (~$275,000) of agricultural damage on
Hokkaido alone.[251]

Distribution in Germany

In Germany—where the raccoon is called the Waschbär (literally, "wash-bear" or "washing bear") due to its habit of "dousing" food in water—two pairs of pet raccoons were released into the German countryside at the
Edersee reservoir in the north of
Hesse in April 1934 by a forester upon request of their owner, a poultry farmer.[252] He released them two weeks before receiving permission from the
Prussian hunting office to "enrich the
fauna."[253] Several prior attempts to introduce raccoons in Germany were not successful.[254][255] A second population was established in eastern Germany in 1945 when 25 raccoons escaped from a
fur farm at Wolfshagen (today district of
Altlandsberg), east of Berlin, after an air strike. The two populations are parasitologically distinguishable: 70% of the raccoons of the Hessian population are infected with the
roundwormBaylisascaris procyonis, but none of the
Brandenburgian population has the parasite.[256] The estimated number of raccoons was 285 animals in the Hessian region in 1956, over 20,000 animals in the Hessian region in 1970 and between 200,000 and 400,000 animals in the whole of Germany in 2008.[199][254] By 2012 it was estimated that Germany now had more than a million raccoons.[257]

The raccoon was a protected species in Germany, but has been declared a
game animal in 14 of the 16
states since 1954.[258] Hunters and
environmentalists argue the raccoon spreads uncontrollably, threatens protected bird species and supersedes domestic
carnivorans.[79] This view is opposed by the zoologist Frank-Uwe Michler, who finds no evidence a high population density of raccoons has negative effects on the
biodiversity of an area.[79] Hohmann holds that extensive hunting cannot be justified by the absence of natural predators, because predation is not a significant cause of death in the North American raccoon population.[259]

The raccoon is extensively hunted in Germany as they are seen as an
invasive species and
pests.[260][261] In the 1990s, only about 400 raccoons were hunted yearly. This increased to 67,700 by the 2010/11 hunting season and the tally broke the 100,000 barrier in 2013. During the 2015/16 hunting season, the tally was 128,100 animals, 60 percent of which were provided by the federal states of
Hesse.[262]

Distribution in the former USSR

Experiments in acclimatising raccoons into the USSR began in 1936, and were repeated a further 25 times until 1962. Overall, 1,222 individuals were released, 64 of which came from zoos and fur farms (38 of them having been imports from western Europe). The remainder originated from a population previously established in
Transcaucasia. The range of Soviet raccoons was never single or continuous, as they were often introduced to different locations far from each other. All introductions into the
Russian Far East failed; melanistic raccoons were released on Petrov Island near
Vladivostok and some areas of southern
Primorsky Krai, but died. In
Middle Asia, raccoons were released in
Kyrgyzstan's
Jalal-Abad Province, though they were later recorded as "practically absent" there in January 1963. A large and stable raccoon population (yielding 1000–1500 catches a year) was established in
Azerbaijan after an introduction to the area in 1937. Raccoons apparently survived an introduction near
Terek, along the
Sulak River into the
Dagestani lowlands. Attempts to settle raccoons on the
Kuban River's left tributary and
Kabardino-Balkaria were unsuccessful. A successful acclimatization occurred in
Belarus, where three introductions (consisting of 52, 37 and 38 individuals in 1954 and 1958) took place. By January 1, 1963, 700 individuals were recorded in the country.[263]

Urban raccoons

On the roof of a house in Albertshausen, Germany

Due to its adaptability, the raccoon has been able to use
urban areas as a habitat. The first sightings were recorded in a
suburb of
Cincinnati in the 1920s. Since the 1950s, raccoons have been present in
metropolitan areas like
Washington, DC,
Chicago, and
Toronto.[264] Since the 1960s,
Kassel has hosted Europe's first and densest population in a large urban area, with about 50 to 150 animals per square kilometer (130 to 390 animals per square mile), a figure comparable to those of urban habitats in North America.[264][265] Home range sizes of urban raccoons are only 3 to 40 hectares (7.5 to 100 acres) for females and 8 to 80 hectares (20 to 200 acres) for males.[266] In small towns and suburbs, many raccoons sleep in a nearby forest after foraging in the settlement area.[264][267] Fruit and insects in gardens and leftovers in municipal waste are easily available food sources.[268] Furthermore, a large number of additional sleeping areas exist in these areas, such as hollows in old garden trees, cottages, garages, abandoned houses, and attics. The percentage of urban raccoons sleeping in abandoned or occupied houses varies from 15% in Washington, DC (1991) to 43% in Kassel (2003).[267][265]

Health

Raccoons can carry
rabies, a lethal disease caused by the
neurotropic rabies
virus carried in the
saliva and transmitted by bites. Its spread began in Florida and
Georgia in the 1950s and was facilitated by the introduction of infected individuals to
Virginia and North Dakota in the late 1970s.[269] Of the 6,940 documented rabies cases reported in the United States in 2006, 2,615 (37.7%) were in raccoons.[270] The
U.S. Department of Agriculture, as well as local authorities in several U.S. states and Canadian provinces, has developed oral
vaccination programs to fight the spread of the disease in endangered populations.[271][272][273] Only one human fatality has been reported after transmission of the rabies virus strain commonly known as "raccoon rabies".[274] Among the main symptoms for rabies in raccoons are a generally sickly appearance, impaired mobility, abnormal vocalization, and
aggressiveness.[275] There may be no visible signs at all, however, and most individuals do not show the aggressive behavior seen in infected canids; rabid raccoons will often retire to their dens instead.[79][256][275] Organizations like the
U.S. Forest Service encourage people to stay away from animals with unusual behavior or appearance, and to notify the proper authorities, such as an
animal control officer from the local
health department.[276][277] Since healthy animals, especially nursing mothers, will occasionally forage during the day, daylight activity is not a reliable indicator of illness in raccoons.[139][140]

Unlike rabies and at least a dozen other
pathogens carried by raccoons,
distemper, an
epizootic virus, does not affect humans.[278][279] This disease is the most frequent natural cause of death in the North American raccoon population and affects individuals of all age groups.[199] For example, 94 of 145 raccoons died during an outbreak in
Clifton, Ohio, in 1968.[280] It may occur along with a following inflammation of the brain (
encephalitis), causing the animal to display rabies-like symptoms.[269] In Germany, the first eight cases of distemper were reported in 2007.[199]

Raccoons and humans

Conflicts

The increasing number of raccoons in urban areas has resulted in diverse reactions in humans, ranging from outrage at their presence to deliberate feeding.[286] Some wildlife experts and most public authorities caution against feeding wild animals because they might become increasingly obtrusive and dependent on humans as a food source.[287] Other experts challenge such arguments and give advice on feeding raccoons and other wildlife in their books.[288][289] Raccoons without a fear of humans are a concern to those who attribute this trait to rabies, but scientists point out this behavior is much more likely to be a behavioral adjustment to living in habitats with regular contact to humans for many generations.[256][290] Raccoons usually do not prey on domestic cats and dogs, but isolated cases of killings have been reported.[291] Attacks on pets may also target their owners.[292]

A Florida raccoon (P. l. elucus) in the
Everglades approaches a group of humans, hoping to be fed.

While overturned waste containers and raided fruit trees are just a nuisance to homeowners, it can cost several thousand dollars to repair damage caused by the use of attic space as dens.[293] Relocating or killing raccoons without a permit is forbidden in many urban areas on grounds of
animal welfare. These methods usually only solve problems with particularly wild or aggressive individuals, since adequate dens are either known to several raccoons or will quickly be rediscovered.[178][277][294] Loud noises, flashing lights and unpleasant odors have proven particularly effective in driving away a mother and her kits before they would normally leave the nesting place (when the kits are about eight weeks old).[277][295] Typically, though, only precautionary measures to restrict access to food waste and den sites are effective in the long term.[277][296][297]

Among all fruits and crops cultivated in agricultural areas,
sweet corn in its milk stage is particularly popular among raccoons.[298][299] In a two-year study by
Purdue University researchers, published in 2004, raccoons were responsible for 87% of the damage to corn plants.[300] Like other predators, raccoons searching for food can break into
poultry houses to feed on chickens, ducks, their eggs, or food.[141][277][301]

Since raccoons in high mortality areas have a higher rate of reproduction, extensive hunting may not solve problems with raccoon populations. Older males also claim larger home ranges than younger ones, resulting in a lower population density.

Mythology, arts, and entertainment

In the
mythology of the indigenous peoples of the Americas, the raccoon is the subject of
folk tales.[302] Stories such as "How raccoons catch so many
crayfish" from the
Tuscarora centered on its skills at foraging.[303] In other tales, the raccoon played the role of the
trickster which outsmarts other animals, like coyotes and wolves.[304] Among others, the
Dakota Sioux believe the raccoon has natural spirit powers, since its mask resembled the facial paintings, two-fingered swashes of black and white, used during
rituals to connect to spirit beings.[305] The Aztecs linked supernatural abilities especially to females, whose commitment to their young was associated with the role of wise women in their society.[306]

The raccoon also appears in Native American art across a wide geographic range.
Petroglyphs with engraved raccoon tracks were found in Lewis Canyon, Texas;[307] at the Crow Hollow petroglyph site in
Grayson County, Kentucky;[308] and in river drainages near
Tularosa, New Mexico and
San Francisco, California.[309] A true-to-detail
figurine made of
quartz, the Ohio Mound Builders' Stone Pipe, was found near the
Scioto River. The meaning and significance of the Raccoon Priests Gorget, which features a stylized carving of a raccoon and was found at the
Spiro Mounds, Oklahoma, remains unknown.[310][311]

Hunting and fur trade

The fur of raccoons is used for clothing, especially for
coats and
coonskin caps. At present, it is the material used for the inaccurately named "sealskin" cap worn by the
Royal Fusiliers of
Great Britain.[312]Sporrans made of raccoon pelt and hide have sometimes been used as part of traditional
Scottish highland men's apparel since the 18th century, especially in North America. Such sporrans may or may not be of the "full-mask" type.[313] Historically,
Native American tribes not only used the fur for winter clothing, but also used the tails for ornament.[314] The famous Sioux leader
Spotted Tail took his name from a raccoon skin hat with the tail attached he acquired from a fur trader. Since the late 18th century, various types of
scent hounds, called "
coonhounds", which are able to
tree animals have been bred in the United States.[315] In the 19th century, when coonskins occasionally even served as means of payment, several thousand raccoons were killed each year in the United States.[316][317] This number rose quickly when
automobile coats became popular after the turn of the 20th century. In the 1920s, wearing a
raccoon coat was regarded as
status symbol among
college students.[318] Attempts to breed raccoons in fur farms in the 1920s and 1930s in North America and Europe turned out not to be profitable, and farming was abandoned after prices for long-haired pelts dropped in the 1940s.[319][320] Although raccoons had become rare in the 1930s, at least 388,000 were killed during the
hunting season of 1934/35.[318][321]

After persistent population increases began in the 1940s, the seasonal
coon hunting harvest reached about one million animals in 1946/47 and two million in 1962/63.[322] The broadcast of three television episodes about the
frontiersmanDavy Crockett and the film Davy Crockett, King of the Wild Frontier in 1954 and 1955 led to a high demand for
coonskin caps in the United States, although it is unlikely either Crockett or the actor who played him,
Fess Parker, actually wore a cap made from raccoon fur.[323] The seasonal hunt reached an all-time high with 5.2 million animals in 1976/77 and ranged between 3.2 and 4.7 million for most of the 1980s. In 1982, the average pelt price was $20.[324] As of 1987, the raccoon was identified as the most important wild furbearer in North America in terms of revenue.[325] In the first half of the 1990s, the seasonal hunt dropped to 0.9 from 1.9 million due to decreasing pelt prices.[326]

While primarily hunted for their fur, raccoons were also a source of food for Native Americans and early American settlers.[327][328] According to
Ernest Thompson Seton, young specimens killed without a fight are palatable, whereas old raccoons caught after a lengthy battle are inedible.[329] Raccoon meat was extensively eaten during the early years of California, where it was sold in the San Francisco market for $1–3 apiece.[330]American slaves occasionally ate raccoon at
Christmas, but it was not necessarily a dish of the poor or rural. The first edition of The Joy of Cooking, released in 1931, contained a recipe for preparing raccoon, and US President
Calvin Coolidge's pet raccoon
Rebecca was originally sent to be served at the
White HouseThanksgiving Dinner.[331][332][333] Although the idea of eating raccoons seems repulsive to most mainstream consumers since they see them as endearing, cute, and/or
vermin, several thousand raccoons are still eaten each year in the United States, primarily in the
Southern United States.[334][335][336][337]

Pet raccoons

Raccoons are sometimes kept as
pets, which is discouraged by many experts because the raccoon is not a
domesticated species. Raccoons may act unpredictably and aggressively and it is extremely difficult to teach them to
obey commands.[338][339] In places where keeping raccoons as pets is not forbidden, such as in Wisconsin and other U.S. states, an
exotic pet permit may be required.[340][341] One notable raccoon pet was
Rebecca, kept by US president
Calvin Coolidge.[342]

Their propensity for unruly behavior exceeds that of
captive skunks, and they are even less trustworthy when allowed to roam freely. Because of their intelligence and nimble forelimbs, even inexperienced raccoons are easily capable of unscrewing jars, uncorking bottles and opening door latches, with more experienced specimens having been recorded to open door knobs.[118] Sexually mature raccoons often show aggressive natural behaviors such as biting during the mating season.[338][343]Neutering them at around five or six months of age decreases the chances of aggressive behavior developing.[344] Raccoons can become
obese and suffer from other disorders due to poor diet and lack of exercise.[345] When fed with
cat food over a long time period, raccoons can develop
gout.[346] With respect to the research results regarding their social behavior, it is now required by law in Austria and Germany to keep at least two individuals to prevent loneliness.[347][348] Raccoons are usually kept in a
pen (indoor or outdoor), also a legal requirement in Austria and Germany, rather than in the apartment where their natural
curiosity may result in damage to property.[347][348][338][349][350]

When orphaned, it is possible for kits to be
rehabilitated and
reintroduced to the wild. However, it is uncertain whether they readapt well to life in the wild.[351] Feeding unweaned kits with
cow's milk rather than a kitten replacement milk or a similar product can be dangerous to their health.[338][352]

^Bluett, Robert; Craven, Scott (1999).
"The Raccoon (Procyon lotor)"(PDF). Cooperative Extension. Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System: 2. Archived from
the original(PDF) on October 31, 2008. Retrieved December 7, 2008.